January 10, 2019

Let’s Read More Books in 2019

verabear My Bookcase books, reading, reading challenge 0 Comments

2018 in Books

2018 was a good reading year for me. I set a goal of 18 books and managed to finish 27. The year prior, I only managed 13 out of 17. I’m aware that there are faster readers than myself who manage to gorge through five or more books in a month but I guess that’s just not me – and that’s okay.

The Goodreads website offers a cool year-in-review page that lets you see the book covers of all the books you read for the year, and even provides a few stats. I wish they allowed for a convenient way to share it on your blog, but I had to go old-school and screenshot-paste-cut-move the whole thing to be able to add this graphic here. Worth it. Hah! 🙂

2019 Goal: 29 Books

This year, I hope to read no less than 29 books to make a significant dent on the ever-growing pile of books in the house (and my e-readers). I’ve already knocked one down with The One Thing but that’s because I’ve been reading it on and off for a few months (I’m learning from it, which is why I re-read some chapters a few times, took notes, and let some info rest before taking it up again. Also my Dad borrowed it while I was going through it!).

I used to blog about each book and movie I read and I haven’t decided if this is the year I do that again, or if I ever will. There are just some books that really move me and writing is my way of ‘thinking out loud’ and processing the learnings so I might just be compelled to share those thoughts here some times. Others do a monthly round-up of what they’ve been reading, and that feels like a manageable schedule…

There’s no specific pile of books that’s waiting to be read. Maybe I should do that – pre-select the books I’ll be reading each month, like some others do. My approach has always been to just go around the house and see which book calls out to me. Or sometimes I decide which shelf (or area really – outside, upstairs, big shelves, new books) to choose one next. Or whatever.

How do you choose your next book?

Letting Go!

We let go of a number of books last year. I gave away a few, sold some at super bargain prices (why not make a few bucks in the process?), and donated others. I’ll keep doing that, a few books at a time.

I can’t believe the effort it takes to decide to get rid of a book. Unless I read it and didn’t really like it. Or if it’s Dad’s book – although I do find that I enjoy reading his books too, not surprisingly since I grew up reading whatever was on the shelves at home.

But yeah, for the sake of decluttering, and having more room to breathe (or for even more books), we shall continue to practice the art of letting go.